Patty Loveless

Strong Heart

Patty gives us another winner!

Review Score:

(10/10)
Patty's latest album, Strong Heart, does not quite rank with her best albums Only What I Feel and When Fallen Angels Fly, but it does compete with all her other albums. There is no country fluff like Faith Hill's "This Kiss" on here. Sure, it may be her least traditional album, but there's always something offered for the listener. The song "You're So Cool" has harmonica on it and a melody that is as cool as the theme. Clever lyrics have an adult woman thinking the one she loves is as cool as "Dylan back in '69." The song "You Don't Get No More" is one of her edgier songs yet, as is "The Key Of Love," but the guitars remind more of good rock and blues than pop. "That's The Kind Of Mood I'm In" has a chorus so uplifting that you won't mind that its theme has been done many times before. "Strong Heart" is a poppy ballad that uses tastefully lush arrangements, and it doesn't lose Patty's introspection. "My Heart Will Never Break Again" is a traditional ballad with good fiddle, and the arrangements are more in the feel of her great songs "Nothing But The Wheel" and "You Don't Even Know Who I Am" than any other song on here. The lyrics in "My Heart Will Never Break Again" are confessed from the soul. The ballad "Thirsty" with its tinge of bluegrass lets Patty's Appalachian twang wail to its fullest. It's definitely a highlight. The ballads "She Never Stopped Loving Him" and "Pieces On The Ground" are also very moving, despite kind of generic ballad arrangements on "She Never Stopped Loving Him." I definitely advise buying this album from one of the most genuine country singers around. Patty Loveless keeps the traditional backbone of country alive in a modern setting.

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